![]() ![]() Squire described it as "one of those acid rock kind of songs" with its psychedelic lyrics. Years later, Banks was still unsure as to what the lyrics meant, yet suggested they were "drug induced". The band would open their live shows with this tune, which features three-part harmonies, an attribute of Yes that quickly became a trademark in their sound. "Beyond and Before" was written by Squire and Clive Bailey, former singer and guitarist in Mabel Greer's Toyshop, the rock band that was a precursor to Yes. Around the third day of recording, Ertegun visited the studio to hear what had been put down, but the band had nothing to play for him. Bruford described his playing on the album as "a mishmash of everything I'd heard" and later recognized his naive playing, specifically to "swing on the cymbals". Instead, he recorded his parts with the guitar loud in one ear "and nothing else in the other". These sessions marked Bruford's first time in a professional recording studio, and it was only when the album was nearly complete that he realized he could alter the volume levels of the other band members' instruments in his headphones. They hired one to use, for Kaye owned a Vox Continental disguised as a Hammond. Recording was also met with technical difficulties, with the group spending two days trying to get a Hammond organ for Kaye to play on to function correctly. Chevin also consistently asked the band to turn their levels down, much to the dislike of Banks, who would put his guitar levels up when no one was looking. Banks nicknamed Chevin "The Weasel" or "The Ferret", for his small stature and glasses that made him resemble "a rocket scientist from the 1950s", and for his general distaste for rock music. Banks was unsure as to how Clay became involved in the album he deemed Clay unfit for the job, for he had worked on film soundtracks and knew little about working with rock bands, which caused the album to lack in quality as a result, with Bruford's drums sounding "like biscuit tins" and Banks' guitar sounding "clangy". They were joined by producer Paul Clay and engineer Gerald Chevin (and John Anthony at Trident). Anderson and Banks recalled that the band were in the studio for between one and four weeks. With their contract secured, Yes recorded their debut album in the spring of 1969, mostly at Advision with additional sessions at Trident Studios in London. ![]() The gig was a success, and news of the band's signing to the label were reported by the press in March 1969. In the course of the search for a record label, manager Roy Flynn and Atlantic managing director Frank Fenter secured a deal to have Yes audition at the Speakeasy Club in London for Ahmet Ertegun of Atlantic Records. Bruford left the band temporarily with the aim of pursuing education at university, but the line-up returned to its original formation in November 1968. They toured the United Kingdom extensively, playing sets featuring both original material and rearranged cover songs from rock, pop, funk, and jazz artists. In August 1968, Yes formed with a line-up of singer Jon Anderson, bassist Chris Squire, guitarist Peter Banks, drummer Bill Bruford, and keyboardist Tony Kaye the band played their first gig under the name on 4 August. The album was remastered in 19, the latter containing several previously unreleased tracks including a rendition of " Something's Coming" from West Side Story. Two singles from the album were released: "Sweetness" and "Looking Around". Yes was positively received by critics in the United Kingdom and United States, but was not commercially successful and failed to chart in either country. Yes includes covers of " Every Little Thing" by the Beatles and "I See You" by the Byrds. They signed with Atlantic in March 1969, and entered Advision and Trident Studios in London to record their first album. After forming in the summer of 1968, the band toured extensively across the United Kingdom with sets comprising both original material and rearranged cover versions. ![]() Yes is the debut studio album by English rock band Yes, released on 25 July 1969 by Atlantic Records.
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